Writer-producer LaToya Morgan on TV storytelling and creative self-discipline

“It’s better for characters if their arc isn’t a straight line. You get to see how far they will go for something. You get to test them.” – Latoya Morgan

LaToya Morgan (@MorganicInk) is screenwriter who currently serves an executive producer on AMC’s Into the Badlands. Previously, she has worked on the shows Shameless and Turn. She is currently developing a drama for AMC based on Wesley Lowery’s best-selling book They Can’t Kill Us All.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and LaToya talk about her early upbringing and influences (2:30); diversity on television (8:30); her decision to become a writer (15:00); the role of research versus personal experience in writing (28:00); the the experience of working in a writers’ room (34:00); and managing work/life balance (48:00).

Notable Links:

• Stephen King (author)
• The Twilight Zone (television show)
• Black Mirror (television show)
• General Hospital (television show)
• One Life to Live (television show)
• Oprah (television personality / media executive)
• Friday Night Lights (television show)
• Mad Men (television show)
• Game of Thrones (television show)
• The X-Files (television show)
• John Steinbeck (author)
• American Film Institute
• Charlie Chaplin (actor)
• City Lights (film)
• Final Draft (screenwriting software)
• Melrose Place (television show)
• Sunset Boulevard (film)
• Warner Brothers Television Writers’ Workshop
• Southland (television show)

Books mentioned:

• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
• The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
• Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
• The Art of Dramatic Writing, by Lajos Egri
• Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder
• The Hero’s Journey, by Joseph Campbell
• Story, by Robert McKee
• On Writing, by Stephen King
• Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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